Washington, D.C. – Today, Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, stands strongly with Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising’s (PAAU) Lauren Handy, Heather Idoni, and other defendants who are being unjustly prosecuted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (FACE) Act charges for their work to save children from the brutal act of abortion. These rescuers face up to eleven years in prison for the simple fact that they disagree with the Biden Administration on the issue of abortion. Those who conduct violent protests for issues the Administration approves of are, on the other hand, protected.

In 2022, PAAU activists discovered the bodies of 115 aborted babies in boxes that were improperly discarded. CWA just unveiled a video of this gruesome discovery. Five of the unborn were almost full-term babies, and PAAU has demanded justice for those five with an investigation of the practices of the Washington Surgi Center who performed them. 

Following the Surgi Center incident, DOJ filed severe charges on PAAU activists under the FACE Act for a protest they had conducted before their discovery at the abortion clinic.

“It’s very troubling that pro-life activists like Lauren Handy and Heather Idoni have been targeted by our government specifically because they have dedicated their lives to exposing the evil that is abortion,” said Valerie Bynog, CWA Legislative Strategist, at a press conference today outside the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “And, make no mistake about it, that is precisely why these defendants find themselves facing such excessive penalties.”

“The politicization of DOJ is a development that all Americans, regardless of political persuasion, should strongly oppose,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWA. “That is what you are seeing the women of PAAU and CWA coming together to condemn.

“What we are seeing from the Biden-Garland Justice Department is a pernicious form of selective prosecutions that violates the most fundamental principles of our Constitution. It is time that we, as Americans, say ‘enough!’”

To schedule an interview with Penny Nance or for more information, please contact 703-282-7320 or comms@cwfa.org.